Thoughts on Portlandia

Hey folks this is not a review in the sense of me saying this is bad or good and so forth. This is just me after watching season 1 and having thoughts and feeling like sharing them. This show is so weird as it is not funny really as much as it is humorous as all hell. I say this as a huge fan and I think there is something to getting the joke and enjoying the point of view and not having a actual laugh there. The show seems to be taking aim at hipster and scenster culture with Portland Oregon as the backdrop. You can tell early on that while the culture is being mined for humor the shows stars live in that world and show a human side to the world of the scenster. The other thing I notice is the chemistry between the leads(Fred armisen,Carrie brownstein) which is so amazing that it makes most of the sketches work. Most people are aware of Fred Armisen who is a regular on SNL as a comedic powerhouse but Carrie was a huge surprise. Brownstein who was the guitarist for sleater-kinney who without knowing would assume she has been doing sketch for ever. They are always on the same beat which leads to some really great moments on the show such as "put a bird on it". Most sketches are stand alone with a one common theme flowing throughout. I love this show but its unabashedly unique view is a hard sell for people who expect a specific punchline is a hrad sell for america